State overtime spending on pace for another record year

ALBANY State agencies are on track to spend a record amount on overtime for the second year in a row, according to a report Tuesday from state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli's office.

The state spent $316 million on overtime costs from January through June, DiNapoli found. The record for a single year is $611 million, set just last year.

Compared to the first six months of 2013, the state spent $22 million more this year.

"This troubling trend could again result in a record-breaking year of overtime hours and overtime pay," DiNapoli said in a statement. "Our state agencies need to examine their practices, get to the root of what is driving high overtime and better manage these costs."

The overtime figures include all state agencies under the executive branch's control. It doesn't include the State University of New York system, which is overseen by a board of trustees.

The bulk of the 2014 overtime costs so far have come from three agencies: the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities and the Office of Mental Health. Combined, they accounted for 62.7 percent of the state's overtime spending.

Overall, state workers were paid for 7.8 million hours of overtime over the year's first six months, compared to 7.6 million over the same time period last year.